South Africa 2010 - The hype, the highs & the hows
The 2006 World Cup in Germany has ended, but with memories of your teams best moments, as well as Zidanes infamous headbutt still deeply etched in your cerebral cortex, lets try and keep the hysteria of world cup football with us until the big day rolls in.
Whenever the World Cup parade enters the designated country after four years of global sporting silence, controlled chaos ensues. People who have been seemingly oblivious to what an actual football is, suddenly become delirious and overcome with World Cup fever its a great feeling isnt it!? Now, since this is a very popular and highly respected publication pertaining to all matters concerning complexes and townhouses, we will look at how you can celebrate, even if Bafana Bafana put their bank balances before national pride and thus miss out on making the finals.
MortgageSA managing director, Saul Geffen says that we can get a rough idea of what is likely to happen to our property prices if we analyse large global sports events, such as the previous World Cups and the Olympics. Property prices in Paris escalated by as much as 55% over a one-year period before and after the 2002 World Cup, and properties across the city made astronomical gains with apartments close to some stadia rocketing by over 100% over the same period, he says. Some neglected neighbourhoods burst back into life and we expect the same effect will happen here in South Africa. Even despite the markets good run, our property is still undervalued in global terms and the long-term macroeconomic outlook is very stable and favourable.
Well planned government expenditure aimed at local regeneration will give impetus to host cities in creating a more suitable and attractive inner-city environment. An example of this is the R2 billion project to regenerate the Greater Ellis Park Precinct. This initiative will see the surrounding areas of Doornfontein, Troyeville and Lorentzville being given a welcome facelift. Property owners in neglected suburbs of Bez Valley, Judiths Paarl and Bertrams, will stand to gain significantly.
Gauteng rentals manager of Pam Golding Properties, Sarah West says that the number of foreign corporates renting homes in Johannesburg is increasing steadily. We are signing up a steady flow of leases for homes in the northern suburbs to house employees of the overseas members of the FIFA team that will be based here to oversee and assist with the preparations for 2010, she says. The highly visible names that have recently joined our rental community include leading global companies active in cosmetics, banking, automotive manufacture, food production, technology, construction and film making. The increasing number of Japanese corporates renting from us has been particularly noticeable.
Sarahs colleague Ronald Ennik says that the rising tide of foreign tenants on the companys books comes at a time when the Gauteng rental market as a whole is beginning to pick up after two years of stagnation. The main reason for this is that, in the current climate of rising interest rates, mortgage affordability is becoming an issue for homeowners who over-extended at the bottom of the interest rate cycle, and they are now beginning to sell and seek refuge in renting, Ennik explains. The 2010 World Cup is however definitely starting to send out ripples towards the Johannesburg residential property letting market.
Should you be interested in benefiting from the letting market, especially with 2010 less than four years away, contact your nearest estate agent and find out how high the hype really goes. Just dont headbutt anyone in the process, thats Zidanes job!
Courtesy SA Complex News
